Hello!
You wrote:
> It's just different to other painting programs and takes a bit to get
> used to it.
Yes - guilty as charged. :-)
But mtPaint's differences aren't just for difference's sake - there is
a reason behind each and every one, and not inconsiderable design
effort. Some, like the gradient system, are needed to provide pixel
precision where other programs have none; others, like handling of
selection marquee, are to enable keyboard control where everything
else requires mouse dragging; yet others, like handling of channels,
are to replace too "artsy" behaviours evolved by Photoshop clones
through the decades, by something that is easy for a technical mind to
understand and predict. And only some, like the absence of "selection"
concept, resulted from mere simplification.
These latter can be remedied, given enough time; but the differences
which are by design, are there to stay.
> One thing I don't like is having that Settings Toolbar window floating
> around there. I wonder if it could be removed:
The current development branch of mtPaint has a dock pane, which holds
the settings toolbar and layers window when their floating windows are
closed. Maybe this will prove itself a good enough alternative to the
floating window, try it: http://github.com/wjaguar/mtPaint
> * Size, Flow, and maybe Opacity, could be placed on the Choose Brush
> menu, since those parameters affect the brush type.
Technically, the whole of settings toolbar is just a brush parameters
dialog - nothing more, nothing less. So, all of its contents naturally
belong together.
> Another unrelated question: Would it be possible to use ImageMagick (or
> GraphicsMagick) to convert from and to the different file types such as
> gif, jpeg2000, etc, instead of having to install the corresponding
> format dev libraries? Since it can be used instead of gifsicle for
> animations, using ImageMagick for all these tasks if possible would
> simplify the program.
The dependence on gifsicle/ImageMagick for animations is partly gone
already, and will be completely gotten rid of in version 4.00. As for
using ImageMagick for format conversions... do you really think such a
thing can be implemented in less time than it takes to download and
install a bunch of headers? My free time isn't an unlimited resource,
and spending it doing useless stuff when _useful_ things are waiting
to be implemented, would be counterproductive.
--
-= With best regards, Dmitry Groshev =-

I've just discovered this program. I thought it was just a low quality
pixel art oriented program, but I have to say it's actually awesome!
It's just different to other painting programs and takes a bit to get
used to it.
One thing I don't like is having that Settings Toolbar window floating
around there. I wonder if it could be removed:
* The 7 mode buttons could be placed on a toolbar next to the Main Toolbar.
* The Gradient Mode button should be placed on the Choose Pattern menu
(its behavior is similar to that of a pattern, and you can't use a
pattern and a gradient at the same time, so it could be considered as a
special kind of pattern).
* Size, Flow, and maybe Opacity, could be placed on the Choose Brush
menu, since those parameters affect the brush type.
* A= and B= could be placed on the status bar (although this might make
it excessively wide).
Another unrelated question: Would it be possible to use ImageMagick (or
GraphicsMagick) to convert from and to the different file types such as
gif, jpeg2000, etc, instead of having to install the corresponding
format dev libraries? Since it can be used instead of gifsicle for
animations, using ImageMagick for all these tasks if possible would
simplify the program.